Conventional pipe wrenches are notoriously old and have been used for many years. The main purpose of a pipe wrench is to enable a plumber to disconnect and connect adjacent threaded pipe sections or couplings. When a threaded pipe section or coupling is to be threadedly engaged with or disengaged from a loose pipe section or fitting, a pair of pipe wrenches must be used and the two pipe wrenches may best be operated by two plumbers with each plumber manipulating a single pipe wrench. However, in many instances a plumber will send his helper or co-worker for necessary parts or other errands and difficulty then arises for the plumber should he attempt to connect or disconnect threaded pipe components. However, a conventional pipe wrench, when the handle thereof is swung in a direction toward the direction in which the jaws of the wrench open, is self-tightening and a first pipe wrench may be engaged with one end of a pipe section and disposed upon a floor or suitable similar surface while the plumber engages a second pipe wrench with a pipe section or coupling to be turned relative to the first pipe section.
If the plumber is very careful in this procedure and maintains sufficient rotary torque applied to the first pipe section in order to maintain the first pipe wrench in gripped engagement with the first pipe section, at least an initial turn of the adjacent pipe section coupling may be accomplished through the utilization of the second pipe wrench. However, each time the workman's grip on the second pipe wrench must be changed, a condition exists wherein the desired constant torque on the first pipe section in order to maintain the first pipe wrench in engagement with the first pipe section may be terminated resulting in the first pipe wrench becoming disengaged from the first pipe section.
Accordingly, a need exists for a pipe wrench construction including features thereof which will enable a floor or other similar surface supported pipe wrench to be maintained in tight gripped engagement with a pipe section, even during period of no rotational torque input to the first pipe section. In order to satisfy this need, the pipe wrench of the instant invention includes an outwardly projecting heel carried by the L-shaped jaw thereof and projecting outwardly from the jaw in a direction opposite the direction in which the jaws of the pipe wrench open. By this construction, the pipe wrench may be supported from the floor or similar surface by the projection and the free end of the wrench handle in a manner such that the weight of the jaw end of the wrench handle will maintain the wrench jaws in engagement with the associated pipe section.
Various forms of pipe wrenches including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 119,265, 265,188, 434,409, 502,259, 685,656, 751,914, 904,109 and 1,453,155.